Revised

Well, I'm back and have a more information for you. First, sorry it took so long to update, but I have a summer job. Next, just in case you haven't guessed yet, italics are the evil enemy thoughts. Bold will indicate flashback or dreams, when it's not one of my introductions or endnotes like here. Also, this chapter has a memory scene during a flashback, essentially a flashback in a flashback. As confusing as that sounds now, it will make sense there. It will be represented as being bold and italicized. Thanks for the feedback so far. Enjoy the story.

Edit: I have come a long way since I first wrote this chapter. Including the fact that my skills at crafting fight scenes has hopefully improved.

Knowing exactly what was at stake and how much he was risking if he failed, Kiwimon lead his drone troops to an ideal location for the next attack. The digimon and their tamers were proceeding towards their position slowly. It was only a matter of time before they arrived.

Their current position was perfect for what he had in mind. The boulders scattered across the landscape had given way to the start of a canyon. The specific point Kiwimon selected was where one side was already a smooth cliff face about ten feet high while the other was still a steep hill side. That side could be climbed, but only slowly and with great difficulty. The space between the two sides offered enough room for a few larger digimon to fight, but not so much room that the smaller beings would be able to easily escape from harm. When the prophesized group reached them, they would only be able go forward or back.

The champion glanced back at the drone creatures he was leading. His earlier group of small digimon was gone. Instead, Kiwimon's current troops consisted of three ultimates: Phantomon, Infermon, and SkullGreymon. Hiding the large skeletal creature would be a challenge, but the cliff edge would make it difficult for those within to see very far. As long as he kept them back, he might be able to keep his forces concealed until it was time to strike.

When the tamers and digimon reached this place, they would suffer. And the master would be satisfied.


Ryo was trying to make sense of things. Everything that had occurred in since the night before was rather overwhelming and difficult to sort out.

He'd called his father to tell him where he was and that he would be staying with the Wong family for now. His father wasn't happy with it, but he finally accepted his son's decision after they spoke for a little while. After all, he spent so much time alone in the digital world with only a rather aggressive ultimate for companionship, how could his parent complain about him remaining in the human one, even if at someone else's home?

All the parents at the earlier meeting tried to find at least some comfort in the fact that their missing children were together and had digimon who would protect them. Their success at that varied from person to person. The general trend that Ryo had seen so far was that, the better the adult knew the digimon partner of their child, the more likely they were to believe tamer might be safe.

The Teradas, who were the most out of their depths than any other person involved, were carefully brought up to speed on digimon, the digital world, and Ai and Mako's connection to it. To say it was overwhelming for the pair would be an understatement. Takato's parents and Rika's grandmother had done a great job in comforting them, expressing their own faith in the digimon they knew personally. Ryo was just thankful Terriermon wasn't there to make some joke about how an Ogremon would probably eat them, though he would have to keep an eye on Kazu in case he tried such a thing.

The tamer sighed and rubbed his temples tiredly. That was the problem. Kazu and Kenta were just as old as the others, but they practically needed a baby-sitter at times. And Suzie was young and would need guidance of some type. Ryo knew from his past that, while young children could be surprising competent when involved digimon, they still wanted and needed a sense of authority. Young kids need someone to look up to and follow.

Normally, Takato, Rika, and Henry tended to keep an eye on everyone. Even if Takato lead the group into trouble with his actions occasionally, he would always lead them back out again. Henry maintained a balance of common sense and maturity with the tamers, preventing Takato's ideas from becoming too farfetched. And of course, Rika bullied everyone into following, which was likely the only reason the "Two Disbelievers of Their Eyes" hadn't gotten killed by stupidity yet.

Now, those three were gone. Who would lead now? Who would keep their group moving in the right direction?

Suzie was too young, and Kazu acted too young. From what he understood, Kenta had some sense, if he was separated from his partner in crime, Kazu. None of them were ideal for the role. The only one left was… him.

Ryo groaned inwardly. He was hoping to avoid this. Granted, the Digimon King had some experience leading with a group, but that was in the past. It was part of the past he'd rather forget. He hoped the others came back soon, because he did not want to be leader long.


Henry's D-arc had leaded them to what was slowly becoming a canyon. The holographic map indicated they needed to proceed through it, but it was making the tamers nervous. They wouldn't be able to escape from the moving data streams or anything else if they proceeded. They could vividly remember the trouble the pink lights caused last time they were wandering around in the digital world. Still, this was the way they were supposed to go and last time they didn't even have a direction. They weren't about to risk straying too far out of the way since they actually had a viable lead to follow. At least the cliff on one side gave the wandering group some shade.

Takato stared up at the cliff on their right side, his imagination already contemplating. It was already almost twice as high as he was tall and made of some kind of sandstone. The grainy surface was pitted and shaped by the wind. He might be able to climb it, if he had to. That would be fun little experiment to try during the next break. Guilmon would think it was cool, even if no one else did.

It was a good thing he was looking upwards while his mind was in the metaphorical clouds, because he was the one who spotted the danger first. He almost didn't realize what it was he was seeing at first. But when he did, it terrified him.

"Watch out!" he yelled, shoving those closest to him back.

"Spider Shooter!" a voice from above announced as the ground in front of them exploded.

The attacker was a skinny red and grey digimon that looked like a spider with spikes and clawed toes. The fan-boy tamer recognized the creature from the digimon movie as one of the stages of the being that attacked the internet: Infermon.

Crashing down into the canyon ahead of them was another familiar ultimate from the show. A skeletal giant reptile with a rocket launcher on his back barred their path. Takato remembered how the character Tai once caused his partner to become such a creature, turning Agumon into a mindless monster. The SkullGreymon stared blankly at the group at his feet. Apparently he, and likely Infermon, was just as emotionless as the digimon who attacked with Kiwimon earlier.

Sadly, those two were not all that faced them. As the group turned to see if there was any escape, they saw a floating figure with a red cape and a scythe. His green eyes were just as dead as the rest. Phantomon had served as Myotismon's lackey on TV, and apparently he would not be good in reality either.

Rika grinned slightly, "We'll take the dork in the bedsheets."

"Renamon Biomerge digivolve to… Sakuyamon!"

"Terriermon Biomerge digivolve to… MegaGargomon!"

"Guilmon Biomerge digivolve to…Gallantmon!"

Though the largest of the tamers' group was forced to float above the canyon due to space, the other two newly-digivolved digimon had plenty of room. Three megas now faced the three ultimates, which should have been fairly predictable in outcome. Especially since the last opponent they had faced in their current forms had been the D-reaper itself and thus the trio were highly experienced. Unfortunately, if their opponents were anything like the strange digimon from earlier, they were still in for a hard fight.

Each mega squared off against an enemy: Gallantmon and Infermon, MegaGargomon and SkullGreymon, who climbed easily back out of the canyon in order to face the gigantic robotic canine, and finally, Sakuyamon against Phantomon. No words were needed in order to organize this. The biomerged megas simply knew who they should deal with.

The fast moving spider leapt at the knight. Gallantmon brought up his shield to block the attack and smacked the ultimate away. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two giant digimon grabbed each other, locked in close combat as they grappled against their foe. He knew Henry would be able to get an advantage over the skeleton that way if he was careful.

"Spider Shooter!" announced, Infermon, quickly recovering from the viral knight's deflection and opening his mouth.

The biomerged being dove to the left, bring his lance up. On the far side, he could spot Sakuyamon. The fox-lady swung her staff at the ghostly ultimate. He easily dodged and swung his blade downwards towards her face. Without hesitation, she fell backwards to avoid the swipe while bring her foot up to kick Phantomon in the face.

Aiming towards his own enemy, Gallantmon shouted, "Lightning Joust!"


Jeri, with the terrified twins beside her, swept her surroundings for somewhere safe. They were in the middle of a fight and completely vulnerable. Leomon was still a digi-egg, so she couldn't help the others. So her main focus was on getting away from the combat, along with the two young kids with her. Someone had to make sure the young pair stayed safe.

Explosions and gunfire echoed across the canyon. She pulled Ai and Mako pulled closer to her protectively. She could feel them shiver slightly, reminding her of Masahiko during a thunderstorm. The brown-haired girl knew that the longer they stayed in place, the greater the chances of something going wrong. As if to prove her correct, a rather powerful strike from the biomerged data type connected with Phantomon, knocking him right beside the trio of humans. Luckily, the emotionless creature did not turn his head towards the exposed humans.

The ghostly digimon rose back up and charged Sakuyamon, unharmed and unrelenting, unleashing a cry of "Shadow Scythe!"

Jeri didn't see for certain if the attack reached its target or not. She'd spotted the only relatively-safe location within reach. In the cliff, a tiny dark area suggested the presence of a shallow cave. Hopefully it would give them some shelter from the battle raging around them.

Jeri bent down and pulled the twins close so they could hear her words. The noise surrounding them might make it difficult, but she raised her voice as best she could.

"Listen, do you see the cave over there? On three, run as fast as you can and get inside," she commanded.

Her eyes glanced around, waiting for the best time to make a break. Her gaze was yanked towards the giant green mega momentarily. She could see several of his various panels opening, which could only mean one thing.

MegaGargomon fired a hard assault on his opponent, shouting "Mega Barrage!" As the monster was knocked back, Terriermon's voice laughed, "Take that, Bonehead." Then, a little nervously, he added, "Uh-oh..."

The skeletal opponent was already preparing his own, large explosive weapon and retaliated against the biomerged vaccine.

"Dark Shot!"

Upon impact, the girl knew that now was the perfect moment. All three of their enemies were completely distracted and tangled up with the megas enough she was willing to risk running across the battlefield.

"One, two," Jeri counted, watching the combatants, "three!"

They took off. Her heart was pounding from both the effort and fear that a stray shot might come their way. The older girl pulled forward, glancing back to keep an eye that the twins were keeping up with her. Ai and Mako held hands as they ran after the older girl.

Speed was all they had on their side and none of them were particularly fast in comparison to many digimon. Their only chance was that small shelter. She could see for certain now it was a cave. The brown-haired girl just needed to avoid danger for a little longer.

As she nearly reached her goal, Jeri realized the twins weren't with her anymore.


The young pair of siblings was doing their best to keep up. They had never been in a situation like this one and it was scary. But Jeri had a plan, so they trusted the older girl. If she said to run for the cave, they would run as fast as they could.

Suddenly, Ai stumbled to the ground, pulling her brother down with her. Jeri didn't see her fall, so she had kept going. And in that moment, they were left alone.

The two young children were frozen with fear. Giant creatures fought over their heads. They had seen things like this happen on television, but not in real life and not this close. The shouts and attacks happening all around them made the pair cringe. The twins looked towards the cave, their eyes pleading for the older girl to help. They could see her, preparing to run towards them. Then, another barrage of gunfire exploded in front of Jeri, forcing her back and cutting her off from the terrified twins.

A shadow fell across the pair of huddling children. The young girl looked up, seeing a familiar brown figure with a long, silver beak. It was the same figure that she saw right before Impmon disappeared. The digimon, Kiwimon, glared down at the young kids.

Ai did her best to glare back bravely, though she was shaking beside he brother, "Y-y-you stay away. Impmon w-w-will stop you."

"Foolish humans, how wrong you are," the threatening digimon informed them. "He can do nothing,"

Ai glanced around, hoping to spot someone coming to help. The Biomerged megas, seeing the danger to the children, struggled to get to them. The ultimates prevented them, grabbing their opponents tightly. Even if SkullGreymon was not quite as large as the green canine, he was able to slow the mega down. Phantomon went as far as to whack Sakuyamon into the cliff wall to prevent a rescue. No one was coming.

Kiwimon continued, "I destroyed him at master's orders. And I will now do the same to you."

"No!" shouted Gallantmon, trying to knock Infermon aside vainly. "You can't."

The avian champion didn't seem concerned about the knight's attempts. In fact, he didn't seem concerned about any type of interference. Ai watched as Kiwimon leapt high into the air, preparing his attack.

"Impmon," screamed the frightened twins in unison, seeking the protection of their absent partner. "Please help us."

As he came down towards the two children, Kiwimon announced, "High Jumping Kic…!"

Another voice interrupted with his own attack. The voice was filled with anger and protectiveness. It was a voice that Ai and Mako had hoped to hear, giving them a sense of safety and relief.

"Badda Boom!"

A fireball struck the champion, knocking him sideways and off his collision course with Ai and Mako. The sheer shock of the situation caused Kiwimon to simply stare after he crash landed, giving the trapped pair a chance to scramble a short distance away from the avian digimon.

The young girl glanced around at the eerily silent area. The three ultimates under his command stopped attacking when the leader lost his concentration, standing still like rather creepy statues. The Biomerged trio and Jeri were apparently too stunned to react. Her brother was simply smiling, just as Ai was. They turned towards the origin of the fireball.


She could see it, but she couldn't quite believe it. Sliding down the steep hill was a small digimon, one that shouldn't be there and yet he was. She always knew and felt connected to the rookie, so she couldn't deny his identity. But neither she nor Rika would want to doubt what they saw anyway.

His green eyes were focused on the young twins and the champion who had attempted to hurt to them. A red gloved hand held another fireball at the ready. His face, once the terror of the park, was twisted into an expression of fury. The purple digimon came to rest at the canyon floor.

"If you… touch…them, I'll turn you into a bucket of fried chicken," he threatened Kiwimon.

Ai, willing to accept this unexpected return without question, cheered loudly, "Get him Impmon."

Mako added his enthusiasm to his sister's, the twin pair of tamers completely unconcerned with the impossibility of their partner's presence. Neither he nor Ai ever accepted his demise, so it was unsurprising that they were dealing with the arrival quite well. Meanwhile, the champion tried to vocalize his surprise.

"But… I… You can't be…," he stuttered.

Then, his expression turned to terror. His eyes, including the strange red one, seemed to widen in horror. It appeared to the digimon half of Sakuyamon that it seemed as if the avian creature was seeing something no one else could. Kiwimon's gaze was focused on some unknown entity that he apparently feared and none present could detect.

The champion pleaded, "Master, I did as you commanded. I destr…" He cringed back abruptly as the others in the canyon stared in confusion. In more desperate tones, he begged, "It is not my fault he was returned, Master. Impmon was… I know that, Master, and I'll do better. I'll destroy them all for you, just don't…" His voice trailed off, his expression somehow becoming even more afraid. Then, Kiwimon screamed, "No!"

The red eye on his head contracted as he shrieked. The strange eye vanished and a second later, the digimon abruptly dissolved into data. After he disappeared, the three ultimates calmly dissolved themselves. Within moments, there was no trace of any of the attackers.

"What happened to him?" Sakuyamon whispered, both halves horrified by the digimon's fear and sudden death. "He just… How?"

"I don't know," replied Gallantmon slowly. "He was so afraid. And he was talking to someone. Someone we couldn't hear and called him 'Master.'"

Jeri, obviously focused more immediate things than the creepy display they'd just witnessed, ran over to where the twins remained. The girl gave them a quick look over, likely trying to prove to herself that they were unharmed. The pair didn't seem to be hurt, but they did seem extremely excited. And it was very easy to guess what currently held the young tamers' interest. Another figure, almost certainly even more concerned about the twins' well-being than Jeri, jogged over to them and Ai and Mako practically tackled him.

"Impmon," laughed Mako. "You're back!"

"Of course, Shrimp," he teased gently. "I made a promise, didn't I?"

The trio of megas separated back into their humans and digimon components once more. They slowly approached their previously-deceased friend, most of them at least semi-uncertain. He looked, acted, and sounded like the old Impmon. But they saw him die; they saw him dissolve into data just as Kiwimon and his troops had done just moments before. Renamon knew that he was certainly the purple rookie; she always recognized him and she could always find him. Even so, it was a little difficult to accept and the others didn't have that unwavering certainty of his identity that she possessed.

Impmon, spotting their uneasy stares, responded with his usual style.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer," he smirked. Then after giving them a second to comprehend his words, he turned his usual mischievous gaze towards one particular tamer. "Takato, remind me to never let you baby-sit again. I come back and everything has gone crazy. Everyone knows there are some things you never do with children: feed them too many sweets, stay up to late, or let them nearly get attacked by oversized turkeys. Honestly Goggle-head, you should know better."

"Impmon…I…," Takato began, trying to voice his confused thoughts. "You… you were… How did you…"

"I get it!" shouted Terriermon suddenly. "Impmon is back because he's a zombie. He'll eat our brains!"

Rika glared at the rabbit digimon, who hid behind Henry's head in response. "He's not a zombie. Honestly, that sounds like something Kazu would think up."

"Okay, if you're so smart, then how come Impmon is not still floating around?"

"Hey," snapped a slightly irritated Impmon. "I am here, you know. Stop talking like I'm not." He was still tangled in the overjoyed twins' group hug, which seemed to reduce the effectiveness of the glare he was trying to use against them. "Ever think of asking me?"

Guilmon, simply taking the purple digimon's advice, bluntly inquired, "Okay, Impmon. Why aren't you dead anymore?"

"What?" asked Ai quietly.

"Nice going, Pineapple-head," Impmon grumbled softly, barely audible to the keen-eared fox. "Of course the brainless nitwit would blab." In a louder voice, he told his upset tamers "Don't worry about it, munchkins. I'm fine."

"Guilmon," groaned Takato. "You're getting as bad as Terriermon."

Renamon, feeling that someone needed to deal with the obvious question before the conversation became too sidetracked or the purple rookie attempted to avoid the subject completely, asked, "What happened to you?"

Impmon didn't immediately answer, but he eventually stated softly, "It was very odd…"


His green eyes slowly opened. His whole body was sore; not sore like he had been pounded, which was a sensation that he was familiar enough with to instantly recongnize, but rather as if he was too stiff to move after a large amount of work. From what he could see, he was outdoors, lying on the ground. Why was he here anyway? He tried to remember how he got there, but realized something frightening.

He couldn't remember anything. Not even his name.

"Hello, Impmon," a calm voice greeted unexpectedly.

He sat up suddenly in surprise, and he instantly wished he hadn't. Everything hurt, from both the abrupt movement and the change in position. And he felt so tired again, so achingly tired that he didn't know if he'd be able to retain his sitting position or if he'd slip back into unawareness.

A cloaked figure, the source of the voice, swiftly bent down to him, placing her hand behind his back to support him. His head swam for a moment, threatening to send him back into the previous darkness. She waited patiently until his body stopped rebelling so strongly and he could remain upright on his own.

"Relax," she gently soothed. "You have not fully recovered yet. Unfortunately, time is short." She removed her hand, quietly instructing, "Now, you must think carefully. Do you remember who you were? And who you are?"

"I…," he slowly started when he was hit by a blinding headache.

Images and voices flashed through his mind. Only some of these fragments remained long enough for him to properly identify, but they all were familiar.

Two small humans in a brightly colored room. A girl told him, "Mako's been a bad boy." A fight between the children commenced…

He raced across rooftops in a city. Alone and answering to no one. He needed something though…

A yellow fox digimon watched him as he pounded the ground, screaming, "I want to digivolve." His frustration was so powerful, he would do anything…

An older girl cried. He was larger and stronger than before; he was full of a desire for more. He wanted more, more power and more carnage. Yet, deep down he knew he was the cause of the girl's pain. He didn't care. A lion digimon dissolved away…

The two young children, twins, looked at him. The boy handed him a toy gun. "It's my favorite. So you can blast the bad guys."

"They'll never know what hit them," he grinned at the boy.

The young girl leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "We love you, Impmon." He felt embarrassed and, at the same time, happy…

He was larger again, and this time flying. The older girl was in a sphere. He reached out his hand, begging her to take it. He wanted to save her, wanted to make things right. She whispered, "You're not Leomon." The sphere closed once more…

The twins listened as he reassured them, "However, no matter what happens or where I go, I'll always come back. I promise." He promised them. He promised Ai and Mako…

The headache faded and everything seemed to settle into place. He took a deep breath, trying to relax after the flood of memories. He could remember it all, good and bad. Lots of bad. Impmon knew who he was.

He also knew he had died. He could remember dissolving into data, just like so many digimon he'd seen in the past. And now he was here with a mystery figure and his friends were nowhere in sight. He should be at least somewhat suspicious of the stranger, but he had the odd feeling that he should at least give her the benefit of the doubt and trust that she was here to help. So far, she seemed semi-trustworthy and he wasn't dead anymore, both of which felt like good reasons not to automatically consider the oddly-dressed entity an enemy.

"Hey, toots," he asked. "Where is everybody and what's with the Ghost-of-Christmas-Yet-to-Come get-up? Is it Halloween already or are you just a freak?"

Because of the cloak, he couldn't see her expression, but she sounded like she was smiling as she remarked, "Well, I see your personality is intact as well as your memories. You are lucky. I wasn't sure they would be."

"So, I'm guessing you're the reason I'm not still floating in pieces. Thanks," he muttered awkwardly, not certain what to say in this type of situation.

The figured pulled him to his feet and he managed to keep his balance. He felt better now, less sore and tired. Considering that he'd been dead previously, the rookie thought that things weren't too bad. Anything was better than being dead, really.

"Impmon, you still have much to accomplish. It would be best if you could rest for now, but circumstances prevent it," the cloaked figure stated, ruining his moment of reflection. She pointed her arm off into the distance. "Go in that direction until you reach a canyon. Don't stop before then. The rest of your group will be there, engaged in battle. If you do not arrive in time, your tamers will pay the price. They will be killed."

He felt a cold sense of pure dread. Ai and Mako? He didn't bother doubting the validity of her statement; he couldn't risk it. Impmon also didn't bother with anymore questions.

He started running in the direction she had pointed, ignoring the remaining stiffness. He wasn't where he last remembered (where he had died, he reminded himself), so he didn't know which way the others may have gone. All he had to go on was the mystery person's advice and he was following it until he either found his goal or he found some other clue of where the twins were. He ran, just as he used to run when he would dash all across the city at night.

He didn't even notice how much time passed between when he began his impromptu marathon and when he first caught a glimpse of his goal, but he recognized it immediately. Ahead of him he could make out the edge of a cliff and there was some distant figures on the far side, one white and one green. Apparently, he was coming up to the canyon's side.

As he drew near, he could tell that his side of the canyon was not a sharp, cliff like the opposite side and he could also hear the sounds of battle. The figures he'd earlier spotted on the other side of the canyon were now recognizable as MegaGargomon and some giant skeletal creature that was trying to pin him in place. He guessed she had been speaking the truth about the fight his friends would be in. The fact she had been right about that fact suggested she was also right about the danger to Ai and Mako. The thought pushed him to run faster, the rookie terrified it was already too late.

Gallantmon's voice rose out of the canyon, "No! You can't!"

As Impmon reached the edge finally, he saw the stupid Kiwimon from before. The avian digimon that tried to take a shot at the twins and Jeri earlier was here. Even worse, he stood near his cringing tamers. As the champion leapt upwards, the twins screamed.

"Impmon, please help us!"

The angry purple digimon obliged. As Kiwimon prepared an attack on the helpless humans, Impmon used his own.

"Badda Boom!"


"And that's where I showed up," he finished, leaving his audience in silence as they contemplated his story.

"So the lady from the D-arcs is a real person," Henry stated finally. "Though whether they're a human or digimon is still unknown. And she seems to be on our side."As he considered the possibilities, the dark-haired tamer shook his head in amazement, "It's been a long day with everything that has happened so far."

Impmon chuckled slightly, "Bet mine was longer."

Ai and Mako gave him another tight hug, their faces lit up with matching smiles. They seemed so relieved that he was back; their unwavering faith in him had proven justified. Henry couldn't help feeling happy for them.

Surprise! He's back. He's my favorite character, so it crushed me to kill him off, even knowing I would bring him back. However, this will not be the last death in my story. I also picked their opponents because they have some history in the other seasons for being trouble. That's why I have Infermon, SkullGreymon, and Phantomon. Let me know what you thought though. I would love to know how many of you freaked out when he died and then returned. I'll continue to update as I can, so thanks for reading and I hope you will continue to follow as more is revealed in later chapters.

Edit: I am now more familiar with Ryo's past than I was when I first wrote this, so I am trying to scatter a few tidbits in. I also want to state that this chapter ended up being expanded by just a little over than two thousand words.